Proceedings of 1St IBSA Youth Summit

Proceedings of

August 26-28, 2021

Jointly Organised By

Ministry of External Affairs Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Government of India Government of India

Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development An Institution of National Importance Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Government of India

Proceedings of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

August 26-28, 2021

Contents

Page No. Foreword and Acknowledgements 1 About IBSA 2 About the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 2 Theme of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 2 Objectives of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 2 Common Charter of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 3 Sub-Themes for Discussions 3 Content 3 Methods 3 Participants 3 Expected Outcome of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 4 Inaugural Programme 4 Proceedings of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 8 Thematic Discussions – 1: Youth Health and Impact of COVID 12 Thematic Discussions – 2: Youth in Governance 22 Thematic Discussions – 3: Youth Development and Exchange 34 Programmes Thematic Discussions – 4: Youth Development Index 42 Preparation of the Action Plan of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 50 Adoption of the Action Plan of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 55 List of Delegates/Participants of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit 56

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Foreword and Acknowledgements

IBSA is a unique Forum which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three different continents, facing similar challenges. All three countries are developing, pluralistic, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious nations. The grouping was formalized and named the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia on 6th June 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.

In the emerging global context, effective views and experiential sharing of the youth in IBSA countries is essential for their constructive participation in dialogue and decision-making processes; active contribution to, and leadership in, positive transformation of their communities by way of joint actions, at a national, regional and global level.

India currently being the IBSA Chair, the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, an Institution of National Importance organised the 1st IBSA Youth Summit on the theme “Democracy for Demography and Development” from August 26-28, 2021.

This Summit was successful because of the stellar role played by the Hon’ble Ministers responsible for Youth Affairs of the Governments of Brazil, South Africa and India. I thank each one of them profusely for their constant guidance and support in organizing this remarkable 1st IBSA Youth Summit.

I would like to thank in particular, Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon'ble Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India; Ms. Emilly Coelho, National Secretary for Youth Affairs, Brazil; Adv. Joyce Mikateko Maluleke, Director General, Ministry of Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities, South Africa; for taking time to participate in this Summit and for addressing the delegates.

Ms. Usha Sharma, Secretary (Youth Affairs), Government of India; and Shri Asit Singh, Joint Secretary for Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, were instrumental in planning and implementing this Summit who deserve special mention for their immense contributions for efficacious conduct of this Summit.

I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the senior officials of Youth Affairs, government authorities, youth delegates participating from all the three countries namely India, Brazil and South Africa for their valuable participation and providing inputs during the Summit.

I would like to express our gratefulness to all the officials and staff of the Ministries of External Affairs and Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, particularly, Shri Ravi Kumar Sinha, Under Secretary and Shri Mohammad Naushad Alam, Section Officer of the International Co- operation Cell in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for their valuable coordination of this Summit. I would like to congratulate my team at RGNIYD for their fullest support in conduct of the proceedings of this Summit.

PROF. SIBNATH DEB, PhD, DSc Director, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (An Institution of National Importance by Act of Parliament No.35/2012) Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu – 602 105, India Member, Board of Directors, Institute for School-based Family Counseling, California, USA Adjunct Professor, School of Justice, Faculty of Law, Queensland Univ. of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

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About IBSA

IBSA is a purely South-South grouping of like-minded countries, committed to inclusive sustainable development, in pursuit of the well-being for their peoples and those of the developing world. The principles, norms and values underpinning the IBSA Dialogue Forum are participatory democracy, respect for human rights, the Rule of Law and the strengthening of multilateralism.

About the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India had in the inter-ministerial meet on the 6th IBSA Summit held on 22nd March 2021 proposed to organise IBSA Youth Summit in July 2021 (Virtual) and launch the youth familiarization program for the three regions. Towards this direction for implementation of youth familiarization program within the IBSA Countries and India currently being the IBSA Chair, under the directives of the Government of India, 1st IBSA Youth Summit was jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament) located at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.

Theme of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

The 1st IBSA Youth Summit was organised on the theme “Democracy for Demography and Development” consequent upon the decision taken in the inter-ministerial meet on the 6th IBSA Summit held on 22nd March 2021.

Objectives of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

The objectives of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit were to:

 facilitate sharing of experiences among the Youth of the IBSA Countries  identify and discuss the common Youth issues of the IBSA Region  deliberate on vital issues such as youth in governance, youth development programmes, youth development index and impact of COVID-19 on youth health

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 learn from each other's experiences and share the best practices

Common Charter of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

 Discuss steps to engage young people in the democratic process at all levels of governance, from the local to the international as youth participation is very much needed and essential for a democratic society  Sustain advocacy to formulate and implement youth responsive programs by national governments.  Establish a Youth Development Index to measure the level and value of youth participation in civic, economic, social, political arena. These parameters to track and monitor the implementation of youth agenda in a comparative manner between countries.  Discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the health of youth and the way forward  Prepare an action plan for implementation by IBSA countries

Sub-Themes for Discussions

The 1st IBSA Youth Summit deliberated on four themes of paramount significance viz., 1. Youth Health with special reference to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic 2. Youth in Governance 3. Youth Development and Exchange Programs 4. Youth Development Index

Content

The Three-Day Programme included:  Sharing of experiences  Presentation of country reports  Discussion on Youth issues  Preparation of Action Plan

Methods

 Presentations  Group Discussions  Interactions

Participants

The Summit was attended by Hon’ble Ministers responsible for Youth Affairs of Brazil, South Africa and India, Secretaries, Joint Secretaries, senior officials of Youth Affairs, government authorities, and select 12 youth delegates from each of the three countries.

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Expected Outcome of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

 Facilitate sharing of experiences among the Youth of the IBSA Countries  Launch of Youth Familiarization Programme  Draw a structured action plan to delineate the IBSA Youth Strategy 2021-22

Inaugural Programme

The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) are jointly organising the 1st IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Youth Summit through virtual mode from 26-28 August, 2021. The inauguration of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit was held virtually on 26th August 2021 at 5.30 pm at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan (formerly Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra), Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.

Ms. Usha Sharma, Secretary (Youth Affairs), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports gave the opening remarks of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit. Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon’ble Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India delivered the welcome remarks on behalf of the Government of India. Ms. Emilly Coelho, National Secretary for Youth Affairs, Brazil presented her address on behalf of the Federal Government of Brazil. Adv Joyce Mikateko Maluleke, Director General delivered the welcome address on

behalf of the Minister of Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities in the Presidency of South Africa.

Later, Prof. Sibnath Deb, the Director of the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development and the Co-host of this Summit made a presentation on the best Youth Development practices in India as part of the Presentation by the Chair (India) through RGNIYD on sharing of best practices on Youth Activities.

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The details of presentation made by the Director, RGNIYD are as follows:

He at the outset described the Vital Statistics on Indian Youth:

 Total Population : 1.21 Billion (Census, 2011)  Youth Population : 333 Million (Census, 2011)  Percentage of Total Population: 27.5 (Census, 2011)  Male: 173 Million (Census, 2011)  Female: 160 Million (Census, 2011)  Youth Literacy Rate : 89.7 % (World Data Atlas, 2015)

He further presented the details on the broad Youth Development Programs/Activities in India:  Ministry of Youth and Sports, Government of India  Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram (RYSK is a National Youth Empowerment Program  Department of Youth Affairs o Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) o National Service Scheme (NSS) o Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) o National Youth Parliament Festival o National Young Leaders Awards (NYLA) o Youth Development Index o Youth Led Initiatives: An Example of Few Positive Cases  Department of Sports

Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram (RYSK)

(i) Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (ii) National Youth Corps (iii) National Young Leaders Program (iv) National Program for Youth and Adolescent Development (v) International Cooperation (vi) Youth Hostels (vii) National Discipline Scheme (viii) Assistance to Scouting and Guiding Organizations.

Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)

 NYKS, launched in 1972 with an objective to develop the personality and leadership qualities of the youth and to engage them in nation- building activities. It is one of the largest youth organizations in the world.

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 NYKS currently has 5 million youth enrolled through 2.75 lakh youth clubs across the country. The activities of NYKS are carried out through a District Youth Coordinator in each District and 2 National Youth Volunteers in each Block.

National Service Scheme (NSS)

 NSS was launched in 1969 with the objective of developing the personality and character of student youth through voluntary community service.  The Program was inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi.  NSS currently has 3.66 million volunteers enrolled through 391 Universities/ +2 Councils, 16,278 Colleges/ Technical Institutions and 12,483 Senior Secondary Schools.  Since inception, over 46 million students have benefited from NSS.

Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD)

 RGNIYD, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, is an ‘Institute of National Importance’ under the Ministry, by virtue of enactment of RGNIYD Act, 2012.  RGNIYD functions as a think-tank of the Ministry and premier organization for youth-related activities in the country.  RGNIYD conducts a large number of training/ capacity building programs (including training of trainers) on various themes, viz., youth employability skills, social entrepreneurship, gender equity, life skills, disaster preparedness and risk reduction, entrepreneurship and livelihood issues, youth leadership and personality development, women leadership and participation, etc.  Research Program: RGNIYD offers inter-disciplinary doctoral programs on youth studies.

Department of Sports, Government of India

 Khelo India-National Programme for Development of Sports: Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games component of Khelo India- National Programme for Development of sports Scheme  National Sports University  Indian Olympic 2021 Medal Winners

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National Youth Parliament Festival

 NYPF is based on the idea given by the Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat Address on 31st December 2017.  The objective of National Youth Parliament Festival is to hear the voice of youth between 18 and less than 25 years of age, who will join various careers in coming years, including public services in addition to encouraging them to engage with public issues and express their views in an articulate manner respecting views of others.  The first NYPF was organized in 2019 with the theme “Be the Voice of New India and Find solutions and Contribute to Policy”.  The second NYPF was launched in December 2020.

National Young Leaders Awards (NYLA)

 National Youth Awards 2021 are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to honor the young men and women and voluntary organization for their exceptional work in the development and social sectors.  The objective of this program is to motivate the youth to strive for excellence in their respective fields by recognizing their outstanding work.  The Award comprises of (i) a Medal (ii) a Certificate of Honour and (ii) Cash Award of Rs.1,00,000/-. In order to be eligible for the Award, a person should be a youth in the age-group of 15-29 years.

Youth Development Index

 RGNIYD under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, GoI pioneered the Youth Development Index 2010  "to enable assessment of the status of the youth in the country, facilitate comparisons between the States and Union Territoriesand also be able to identify the gaps which need policy intervention".  Second version was brought out by RGNIYD in 2017 on the lines of the Global Youth Development Index and the Commonwealth Youth Development Index which has potential comparability with other countries in the Commonwealth Region. Youth Development Index is a composite index of six domains viz. Education, Work, Health, Civic Participation. Political Participation and Social Inclusion.  Youth Development Index 2022 by January 2022.

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Youth Led Initiatives

 He cited examples of few positive cases ensuring the most vulnerable are not left behind. Some of the case studies highlighted by him include:  NSS youth volunteers in Madhya Pradesh  Library on Wheels - Teacher- Student Duo - Usha Dubey and Mahima Singh  Trying to Bridge the Digital Divide - GujjuStudent.com  The Power of Youth and Community Radio - the case of Ashwathy Murali, a community radio producer from the tribal Paniyar community  Creating Art to Cope: case of Aditya an artist from Patna, Bihar  Using the Power of Social Media and Apps to Spread Accurate and Verified Information - case of Mantasha who is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education

Later, the Joint Secretary of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, Shri Asit Singh proposed the Vote of Thanks.

Proceedings of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

Following the inaugural programme, the proceedings of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit were facilitated by Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran, Professor and Head, Centre for National and International Collaboration, RGNIYD.

Before commencement of the deliberations, she made a detailed presentation on the action points of the themes on which the discussion to be focused.

She at the outset delineated the objectives of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit as follows:

 To discuss the current state and prospects for the development of youth cooperation among IBSA countries in four priority areas.  Facilitate effective views and experiential sharing of the youth among IBSA countries  Ensure constructive participation in dialogue and decision-making processes; active contribution to, and leadership in positive transformation of their communities by way of joint actions, at a national, regional and global level.

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She mentioned that therefore IBSA Youth Summit envisages to:

 Bring together youth, youth functionaries, civil society organizations, government bodies, opinion makers and decision makers  To discuss, identify and agree on proposed actions that will strengthen social, economic, political cohesion at the country and the regional level for IBSA countries.  To search for new mechanisms of cooperation and integration in various fields, keeping focus on the agency of ‘youth’ by creating joint programs and projects.

She further mentioned about the ‘Strategic Intervention and Common Charter’ for the 1st IBSA Youth Summit as follows:

 Discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the health of youth and the way forward  Discuss steps to engage young people in the democratic process at all levels of governance, from the local to the international level .  Sustained advocacy to formulate and implement youth responsive programs by national governments through Youth Exchange Programs  Establish a Youth Development Index to measure the level and value of youth participation in civic, economic, social, political arena. These parameters to track and monitor the implementation of youth agenda in a comparative manner between countries.  Prepare an action plan for implementation by IBSA countries

She then presented the action points of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit based on each of the four themes for the discussions as follows:

1. Impact of COVID-19 on the Health of Youth in IBSA Countries

The COVID 19 Pandemic is:  Forcing transition into online and distance learning  Delaying education and also instilling fears that education would suffer and might even fail  Inflicting a heavy toll on young workers, destroying their employment and undermining their career prospects  Besides causing severe disruptions to learning and working the COVID Pandemic, has seen deterioration in young people’s mental well-being.

Health:

 Impact of the crisis on young people (aged 15-29) and across different age cohorts  Young adults (aged 18 to 29) experience higher level of distress compared to other age groups since the onset of the pandemic.  Significant psychological impacts of social distancing and quarantine measures on young people causing stress, anxiety and loneliness.

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 Exposure to domestic violence increased during lockdown measures, leaving adolescents, children and women vulnerable to violence by family members and intimate partners with long-lasting psychological impacts  Since the outbreak of COVID-19, online enquiries to violence prevention hotlines have risen up to 5 times while emergency calls reporting domestic violence against women and children have increased by 60% compared to the same period of the previous year according to the WHO (WHO, 2020).  Postponement or cancellation of exams in around 70 countries, including high-stake final school exams, exposes youth and children to uncertainty, anxiety and stress (UN, 2020).  The impact of the crisis on the psycho-social and subjective well-being of young people also depends on the household they live in and individual circumstances such as prospects of job and income losses; housing quality; the illness or loss of loved ones; and the presence of existing medical conditions and vulnerable persons in the household.  The ongoing crisis and mitigation measures also have implications for mental health.  Many young people with mental health conditions are experiencing a deterioration of their health status.  Prolonged social isolation and stress are expected to increase the incidences of young people with mental health conditions.  There may be longer term mental health impacts that are currently unknown, to which public service providers should be sensitive.  In the aftermath and continuing crisis from the corona pandemic, the health of the youth needs to gain renewed focus.

2. Youth in Governance in the IBSA Region

 Young people should take part in the democratic process at all levels of governance, from the local to the international.  Youth engagement on the part of public authorities helps young people to be relevant in the decision-making process and also allows them to broaden their own experiences.  Having active youth participation in governance requires civic education to instill ethical values that can help youth to distinguish right from wrong’  For political systems to be representative, all parts of society must be included. When young people are disenfranchised or disengaged from political processes, a significant portion of the population has little or no voice or influence in decisions that affect group members’ lives. A key consequence is the undermining of political systems’ representativeness.  Essential that young people are engaged in formal political processes and have a say in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s politics.  Inclusive political participation is not only a fundamental political and democratic right but also is crucial to building stable and peaceful societies and developing policies that respond to the specific needs of younger generations.  For young people to be adequately represented in political institutions, processes, and decision-making, and in particular in elections, they must know their rights and be

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given the necessary knowledge and capacity to participate in a meaningful way at all levels.  Need to remove obstacles to participating in formal, institutionalized political processes, so that young people do not feel disempowered which may lead to young people being increasingly excluded from taking part in decision-making, or in debates about key socio-economic and political issues, despite their sensitivity to the demands for social equity and justice, environmental protection and cultural diversity.  Establishing a multi-country program for encouraging open dialogue proposed on “Youth Leadership and Development needed in IBSA countries”.

3. Youth Development and Exchange Programs of IBSA countries

 Share the flagship youth development programmes in IBSA countries and learn from each other’s best practice  Work on a common IBSA country cooperation system of credits for youth and professionals who take initiative to gain education and training in other IBSA countries.  Encourage inter-country youth exchanges between IBSA countries by way of formal academic and professional programs in place; whereby governments and private sector can create supportive environment  Formulate Youth program to discuss on Gender-focused priorities in the IBSA countries  Create a IBSA forum for digital transformation guided by youth-led discussions  Engaging with youth on a formal IBSA platform for enhancing the agro-based food value chain across the rural and urban economies; especially in a post-COVID context  Build a strong team of young entrepreneurs across IBSA countries to promote the spirit of social entrepreneurship  Online economic mentorship programme for youth with updates on changing labour market scenarios and resource availability. Linked with successful mentors across IBSA to sharpen the skills and knowledge in different career paths

4. Youth Development Index

 Essential to develop an index exclusively for the youth for continuous and effective monitoring and evaluation of schemes and programmes for development of the youth, identification of problem areas, introduction of corrective measures, re-examination of approaches, methods and implementation strategies.  Identify relevant indicators that would reflect the situation of youth today in IBSA countries and find ways of collecting and processing vastly scattered youth related data in IBSA countries  National Youth Development Index and Report should be an effective tool for IBSA countries for all stakeholders  Youth Development Index should serve as an “observatory of social change” in the IBSA countries and as a support tool for national and regional policy making bodies for judicious resource allocation and priority identification.

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Thematic Discussions – 1: Youth Health and Impact of COVID

On the 26th August, 2021, the first theme for discussion was “Youth Health and Impact of COVID”.

While introducing the first theme, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran gave a brief background on the status of youth health and the impact of COVID-19 on the young people in all the three countries viz., India, Brazil and South Africa. She presented the following facts:

Country COVID Cases Deaths

India 3.25 Cr 4.36 L

Brazil 2.06 Cr 5.76 L

South Africa 27.1 L 79,953

Impact of COVID-19 Youth in IBSA Education, Employment & Health

 Transition into online and distance learning  Education is being be delayed, and there is fear education would suffer and might even fail  Heavy toll on young workers, destroying their employment and undermining their career prospects  Severe disruption to learning and working, compounded by the health crisis, has seen deterioration in young people’s mental well-being.

Information Specific to Youth

 Impact of the crisis on young people (aged 15-29) and across different age cohorts, as well as its implications for intergenerational solidarity and justice.  Significant psychological impacts of social distancing and quarantine measures on young people causing stress, anxiety and loneliness.  Young adults (aged 18 to 29) experience higher level of distress compared to other age groups since the onset of the pandemic.

Domestic Violence

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Mental Health

 The ongoing crisis and mitigation measures have implications for mental health of youth.  The closure of schools/colleges affects students’ mental well-being.  Postponement or cancellation of exams in around 70 countries, including high-stake final school exams, exposes youth and children to uncertainty, anxiety and stress.  The impact of the crisis on the psycho-social and subjective well-being of young people also depends on the household they live in and individual circumstances such as prospects of job and income losses; housing quality; the illness or loss of loved ones; and the presence of existing medical conditions and vulnerable persons in the household.  Many young people with mental health conditions are experiencing a deterioration of their health status.  Prolonged social isolation and stress have increased the incidences of young people with mental health conditions.  There may be longer term mental health impacts that are currently unknown, to which public service providers should be sensitive.  Physical and mental health and well-being of youth are essential components for their personal development and enable them to be productive members of society.  In the aftermath and continuing crisis from the corona pandemic, the health of the youth needs to gain renewed focus.

Introducing about the facts on India she mentioned that the latest ICMR data shows that nearly 34 per cent infected people in India are under the age of 30 years.

India’s young people are leading the way in the battle against COVID-19 through heroic acts of goodwill and support in their families and communities. Then, the first presentation was made by the following Indian Youth Delegates:

 Dr. Chitrakshi Nagpal, All India Institue of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.  Dr. Prerna Garg, All India Institue of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.  Jani Esekkial Mariya Selvam , Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Tamil Nadu

Their presentation focussed on the following aspects:

Relevant facts about youth in India

 India is second largest population country in the world  India is first largest youth population country in the world  Youth age group is 15 to 24 - United Nation

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 Youth age group is 15 to 29 -national youth policy (2014). (This age-group constitutes 27.5% of India's population)

Health of the youth and appropriate measures

 Mental health and physical health issues of the youth due to the COVID-19 pandemic  15-23 age group : health of school or college going age group during COVID-19.  24-29 Age Group : health of working age group during COVID-19.  Health of Migrant youth during pandemic and Relief measures for them the government of India.

Health of the youth and appropriate measures

 The health of the youth due to the COVID-19 pandemic are mental health and physical health issues  15-23 age group : school or college going age group and their health during COVID- 19  24-29 Age Group :working age group and their health during COVID-19  Migrant youth during pandemic and Relief measures for migrants by the government of India

Youth participation in volunteering activities

 Youth is a significant population and huge active human resource in India  Young Warrior movement by UGC collaboration with ministry of youth affairs and various ministries.( Youth volunteerism to combat COVID-19)  NYKS volunteering activities through the rural youth clubs during the pandemic

Covid-19 in India

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Education- school closure

 More than 3/4th of the schools experienced closure, and were unable to completely to convert into distance learning  Potential inequality- digital divide in distance learning  High technology solutions Vs low-tech and no-tech (not explored)  Disruption in physical activity and social interactions

Transitional Problems of Online Education

 There has been lesser learning reported  Fear of inexperience  Medical profession especially suffered o Reduced exposure to other illnesses o Lesser hands on training o No “live’ patient content during clinical teaching o Simulation based teaching while taken up in some hospitals, cannot be expanded into the rural sectors of the country

Occupational Opportunities for Youth

 Career prospects for youth have been undermined  With the COVID lockdown and “work from home” systems, there have been a lot of job layoffs  International business exchanges have reduced significantly, hence lesser opportunities for young people to get jobs  A lot of colleges have cancelled in campus placements because of reduced demand at this time  Reductions in working hours due to working in PPEs/ guidelines that restrict work time to reduce transmission  Reduced income/earnings of youth due to restrictions in timings and work from home activities

Mental health Issues among Youth

 Higher risk of developing acute and post-traumatic stress disorders  General psychological symptoms  Emotional disturbances  Depression, stress, low mood, irritability, and anxiety, insomnia

Mental Health Causal Factors among Youth during COVID

 Severe disruption in working  Health crisis due to the pandemic itself – unexpected deaths  Prolonged periods of isolation

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 Fear of being infected  Pre-existing psychiatric disorders- sudden cut off or break in care  Lack of physical activity  Excessive exposure to internet and social media due to lock down  Disrupted social interaction  Feeling of lack of freedom of movement  Financial disruption  Permanent relocation for months altogether due to sudden unannounced lockdown  Reduced medical advise, as well as non-availability of drugs of common diseases due to hoarding for apparent benefit in COVID before any trials were run

Recommendations

Transition to online  Text based content using cellular networks, not just video conferences that require high speed internet  Paper based materials for areas with no connectivity  Spreading awareness using posters, rallies etc.

Health  Build the capacity of the youth to make their own decisions and take responsibility for their own health  Universal health coverage for societal interest  Health care for all young people  Structural barriers like language, or facilities that are inaccessible to people with disabilities must be dismantled.

Spreading awareness

 Young people should themselves spread public health information via innovative ways- eg., explaining social distancing, hand hygiene etc  Public health promotion and health education should be done on evidence-based information  Governments and youth organisations should ensure that trustworthy public health information is only disseminated.

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Occupation

 Sick leaves due to coronavirus or for the isolation period after high risk contact should be paid  Unemployment support must be given to those where only COVID is causative  Enough financial support must be given such that the gap between loss of earnings and its impact on health is bridged.  Access to health care must be expanded to people who have lost earnings due to unemployment in the pandemic

Mental health

 Adolescents are a vulnerable group, transitioning into adulthood  Mental health system needs to be integrated as a part of a broader health response, as well as should integrate services for young people – Universal health coverage for all  We must also be sensitive to some long term impacts, which are currently unknown  Emergency helplines can be set up for COVID-19, like the disaster helplines

General Recommendations

 Recognizing the importance of lockdown as the primary defence against this pandemic and safeguarding lives is important  Youth can function as productive members of the society if their physical, mental and social health permits, hence in the continuing COVID crisis, the youth health needs to regain focus.  The youth should in turn also be determined to step up and partner safely and effectively with the governments, social partners, and other institutions.  Government should partner with young innovators who respond to the pandemic by launching initiatives that support vulnerable members of their community

Before the presentation by the team from Brazil on the 1st theme of the Summit, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran gave brief details on the situation of youth in Brazil connected to the first theme as follows:

 As of August 2021, Brazil, with over 20 million confirmed cases and around 560,000 deaths, has the third-highest number of confirmed cases and second-highest death toll from COVID-19 in the world, behind only those of the United States and of India

 Brazil's intensive care doctors have seen more and more young patients arriving at their wards in recent months, with one in two under 40 years old. The new, more contagious Brazilian variant, known as P1, seems to be affecting younger people with no pre-existing comorbidities.

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She further detailed on how young indigenous people from different parts of Brazil have engaged to protect and bring information to their communities by citing examples.

She further introduced the presenter from Brazil.

The presentation on the importance of a good family environment for the health of young people was made by Mr. Daniel Celestino de Freitas Pereira, Director in Department of Family

Social Challenges.

He mentioned that according to the National Youth Council (CONJUVE)

• 6 out of 10 young people report anxiety and overuse of social networks; • 5 out of 10 feel exhaustion or constant tiredness; and • 4 out of 10 have insomnia or have had weight disorders

Findings from the research conducted by CONJUVE:

• “Young people report, on average, 3 physical or emotional health situations as a result of the pandemic”. • “1 in 10 young people admit that one of the impacts of the pandemic on their lives is thoughts of suicide or self-harm, and this number is even higher in the 15 to 17 years old age group. • This number may be even higher, considering the difficulty many young people may have in opening up or sharing this problem”.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

He highlighted the Measures adopted against the pandemic, of which forced social isolation (and social distancing), since such a measure has especially three pernicious effects, especially on youth:

1. Of economic stagnation (and consequent recession unemployment, for example which explains the feelings of ' and ' about the future reported by young people in these questionnaires) 2. Of the closing of educational institutions (causing school dropouts) and 3. Of that feeling of ' reported by young people

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What the Pandemic did to Young People?

• increase in drug consumption in several countries, although there has been a shortage of drugs and an increase in prices due to the pandemic; • significant increase in psychiatric symptoms, especially anxiety; • increased sleep disturbance; • increased use of screens; and • decrease in suicide rates.

Importance of Family Relationship for Mental Health

 There is a consensus in the literature, for example, that children develop better in family environments, that function in a cohesive and united way (ROCHA et al 2018  If the family group remains integrated and cohesive, children who grow up there, run less risk of developing psychological distress (FERNANDES CID, 2012)  Children of neglectful and permissive parents, are twice as likely to engage in early sex at the average age of 13 years  When parents constantly monitor their children and talk about family rules, especially about their motives, their children are less at risk of getting involved with drugs  Interventions that involve parents to prevent risky behavior, are up to nine times more effective (Rocha et al 2018)  “Technology enters a person's life in a negative way, when personal relationships do not take their proper place” – Sherry Turkle

Recommendations

• Invest in programs that work with students' life skills; • Train primary care and education teams to manage and identify common mental health problems; • Interventions that make use of technologies (gamification and applications); • Use of already validated development programs (and online versions); and • Emphasis on family programs. • Investments in family-oriented policies and programmes contribute to poverty reduction and investment in human capital. Families are also widely regarded as enablers of social protection; ensuring intergenerational solidarity and investing in families as the natural environment for children is therefore often seen as the best social protection strategy. (Secretary General's United Nations Report, November 26, 2019) • Promote the engagement of young people and families • Not only feel socially included, but also realize the importance of acting in search of greater meaning • We need to rescue the culture that fosters the search for meaning, in a context of family unity and friendship.

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Then Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran gave factual information on the situation in South Africa as follows:

 In South Africa, current statistics suggest more than 627041 confirmed cases of infection, with over 14149 reported deaths (NISD, 2020).  These numbers places South Africa as the fifth most infected country in the world as at the time of the study

She also detailed about the response of Youth of South Africa during COVID-19.

The third presentation on the 1st theme was done by the team from South Africa comprising of:  Mr. Khulekani Skosana  Ms. Tshego Oratilwe  Ms. Bamanye Matiwane

Ms. Tshwarelo Sikwane from National Youth Development Agency, South Africa made the presentation on the “Health of Youth with focus on the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on South African Youth”.

Introduction

For the IBSA countries to realise health goals for the population, young people need to be supported with information, skills and services that will help them prevent non-communicable and communicable diseases. Jobs are one reason why young adults are vulnerable to coronavirus infection. Many people in their 20s and 30s work in health care, food, and essential services such as public transportation. Young people often work in areas at high risk for exposure to the coronavirus, such as bars and restaurants, schools, childcare centres, and retail shops.

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College students can be affected by campus outbreaks and spread the coronavirus when they return home.

Recommendations

 Applying a youth and intergenerational lens in crisis response and recovery measures across the public administration.  Updating national youth strategies in collaboration with youth stakeholders to translate political commitment into actionable programmes.  Partnering with national statistical offices and research institutes to gather disaggregated evidence on the impact of the crisis by age group to track inequalities and inform decision-making (in addition to other identity factors such as sex, educational and socio-economical background, and employment status).  Anticipating the distributional effects of rulemaking and the allocation of public resources across different age cohorts by using impact assessments and creating or strengthening institutions to monitor the consequences on today’s young and future generations.  Promoting age diversity in public consultations and state institutions to reflect the needs and concerns of different age cohorts in decision-making.  Leveraging young people’s current mobilisation in mitigating the crisis through existing mechanisms, tools, and platforms (e.g. the use of digital tools and data) to build resilience in societies against future shocks and disasters.  Aligning short-term emergency responses with investments into long-term economic, social, and environmental objectives to ensure the well-being of future generations.  Providing targeted policies and services for the most vulnerable youth populations, including young people not in employment, education, or training (NEETs); young migrants; homeless youth; and young women, adolescents and children facing increased risks of domestic violence.

After the country presentations, the floor was open for discussion wherein, the youth delegates reflected their views on the presentations and shared compared the conditions in their respective countries besides showcasing few best practices. The following suggestions emerged during the discussions on the first thematic area:

. Recovery measures for youth is important . Updating the national youth strategies to suit the present requirements . Partnering with National Statistical Organisations and Research Organisations to gather evidence based data on various issues pertinent to youth to tackle crisis . Anticipate distributional effect . Promote age diversity based needs and concerns of youth for allocation of resources for programmes . Leveraging youth’s crisis and build resilience for future shocks and disasters . Aligning short-term emergency responses . Focus on NEET . Controlling virus spread due to Campus Outbreaks

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. Providing incentives to students in the age group of 11-20 years to get back to educational system and for enabling them to continue their education . Recognition of the contributions of youth by the State/Central governments by providing awards, certificates, documenting and disseminating success stories etc. . Prevention of high-risk behaviour as a consequence of mental health disturbances among the teens . Reopening institutions for youth and arrange for campus vaccination drives . Students to be called back by respective institutions and pave way for their growth after vaccination . Addressing the mental health issues of young people and providing interventional programs on mental health to prevent suicides among youth including removal of suicidal ideations and prevention of substance abuse among youth . Need to establish helplines, organise webinars on mental health, providing online resources and online/e-counselling etc. . Addressing the digital divides by replacing with effective offline strategies (instead of giving laptops give vaccinations) . Developing free social media apps by Government for promotion of mental health eg., meditation, yoga etc.

With this, the proceedings of the Day-1 came to an end.

Thematic Discussions – 2: Youth in Governance

On 27th August 2021, introducing the 2nd priority theme - Youth in Governance, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran pointed out the need for youth in governance process at various levels. She presented the situation of Youth in Governance in I-B-SA Countries as follows:

Item India Brazil South Africa Candidacy Age Lower House 25 Lower House 21 Lower House 18

Source: Inter- Source: Inter- Source: Inter- Parliamentary Parliamentary Union Parliamentary Union Union Upper House 35 Upper House 18 Upper House30 Source: Inter- Source: Inter- Source: Inter- Parliamentary Union Parliamentary Union Parliamentary Partially appointed and Union by other means. Partially indirectly elected and appointed.

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Voting Age 18 30 18 Compulsory voting. 16-18 years and over 70 Source: Inter- years voting is optional. Source: Inter- Parliamentary Parliamentary Union Union Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union

She further mentioned that:

 In the last two decades, young people feel they have been reduced to recipients of decisions rather than shapers of decisions.  First the government at all levels of governance needs to recognise that young people aspire to express their dreams through inclusive participation in all decision-making processes, from the conception of policies, formulation all the way to implementation.  Second, society and political parties must support young people’s candidacy to contest elections.  There is a need for collective support from civil society, the Electoral Commission and political parties to facilitate their representation in the legislature.  Political parties can work together to eliminate barriers that may hinder young people from reaching electable positions. Intra-party processes must be non-discriminatory so that young people can gain the confidence to participate in their parties.  Third, leaders from civil society, business, political parties, labour, academia and other formations need to invest in young people through mentorship and coaching.  Fourth, civil society in partnership with the Electoral and political parties need to work harder in encouraging young people to participate in voting.

Describing about the situation of Youth in Governance in India, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran described the following:

 In 2019 elections where an estimated 8.2 crore first-time voters exercised their franchise, possibly tilting the scales in several constituencies.  64 MPs are under 40, 221 are between 41 and 55 years  Youngest MP in India is Ms Chandrani Murmu, 25

She later highlighted the details of five Young MPs in India’s 17th Lok Sabha as follows:

1. Ms. Chandrani Murmu

25-year-old Chandrani Murmu is the youngest MP. She is a giant killer in a way that she defeated two-time MP Ananta Nayak to win Keonjhar Lok Sabha seat in Odisha.

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2. Mr. Tejasvi Surya

28-year-old Tejasvi Surya won from Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat. A lawyer by profession,. He is a fiery orator.

3. Ms. Mimi Chakraborty

Mimi Chakraborty is a young MP from West Bengal. 30-year-old Mimi Chakraborty is a prolific actress from Bengali film industry. She won Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat with a winning margin of nearly 3 lakh votes.

4. Ms. Nusrat Jahan

Member of Parliament from Basirhat in West Bengal. 29-year-old Nusrat Jahan won the seat with a winning margin of 3.5 lakh votes. An actress by profession.

5. Ms. Raksha Khadse

32-year-old Raksha Khadse bagged Raver Lok Sabha seat in Jalgaon in Maharashtra. She is one of the young guns who is likely to address issues that concern younger generations.

She further reiterated that it is the high time to invest in the next generation of leaders.

She introduced the India youth delegation team comprising of the following members to make their presentation

 Mr. Puneet Kakkar, IIM, Amritsar  Mr. Vishwa Mohan Tiwari, NIT, Surathkal, Karnataka  Ms. Vrinda Jindal, IIT, Bombay

The Indian youth at the outset quoted Ban Ki-moon, the Former UN Secretary- General’s statement that “Youth should be given a chance to take an active part in the decision making at local, national and global levels.” They further made the presentation and the content of which is given below:

Why Discuss Youth’s Participation?

Although today’s youth is involved in activism in the digital space, volunteering to improve their communities and innovating for social good, their participation in formal politics is

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limited. Let us see some of the reasons why youth’s participation in governance and politics is important:

Influencing Policies of Future: To make a difference in the longer term, it is essential that young people are engaged in formal political processes and have a say in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s politics

Socio-Political Stability: Inclusive political participation is crucial to building stable and peaceful societies and developing policies that respond to the specific needs of younger generations

Innovative Problem Solving: Youth, being more dynamic and tech-savvy can bring their raw intelligence to the table and propose innovative solutions to the modern day problems, that can’t be solved traditionally

Barriers to Youth’s Participation

Financial Barriers  Increased costs for candidate nomination and political campaigns  Not a source of stable income

Structural Barriers  Age requirements to vote or run for office  Lack of enabling structures

Social Barriers  Politics is still considered as a domain of older, often male and wealthy citizens in many societies

Perceptual Barriers  Distrust in political institutions  Stigma attached to the political system.

Hindering factors

Youth is marginalised from political and decision making process by virtue of:

Society: Attitudes towards them, labelling and stereotyping them as being irresponsible, inexperienced, lazy, rebellious, etc.

Community: Cultural, religious and family norms undermining particularly young people’s public engagements

Institutions: Lack of laws, policies and practices supporting youth participation or existence of laws and policies which are not implemented (leading to under-representation in formal structures such as local government & parliament)

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Individual: Lack of rights, knowledge, skills and motivation

Enabling factors

Youth is included in political and democratic process as a result of:

Society: Acknowledgement of young people as a resource in decision-making and development

Community: Interpersonal support from peers, family, colleagues and other stakeholders

Institutions: Youth policies and youth quotas, etc. being implemented, active citizenship education, etc.

Individual: Knowledge, skills and motivation, including: • Awareness of one’s view of the world • Awareness of rights • Awareness of power dynamics and how to participate in decision-making processes

Current State of Youth in Governance

 2.6% of the world’s MPs are under 30  25% of the world’s lower houses of parliament have no MPs aged under 30  73% of the world’s upper houses of parliament have no MPs aged under 30

Encouraging signs

 The gender imbalance is less pronounced among younger MPs, where the male/female ratio is 60:40  The share of young parliamentarians has continued to increase across all age categories. Youth quotas, lower eligibility ages, proportional representation and inclusive parliaments are all factors that increase the no.of young MPs.

Star Performers

 Over 10% of members are aged under 30 in Norway, Armenia, San Marino, Gambia and Belgium

They also mentioned about some successful cases around the world as follows:

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1. Mechanism: Platform For Youth Involvement – The case of India: National Youth Parliament Festival

 To uplift the youth to engage with public issues, understand the view of common man's point, form their opinions, and express it in an articulate manner.  Three levels namely District Youth Parliament (DYP), State Youth Parliament (SYP), and National Youth Parliament (NYP).

2. Mechanism: Participatory Budget – The case of Boston, USA: “Lead the Change”

 Participatory budgets allow youth to experience and learn about the political process. They empower youth to make actual decisions on how to spend public funds while being guided by the administrative and political system.  Accordingly, political actors adjust their projects and policies to youth needs.

3. Mechanism: Youth Delegates – The case of German Youth Delegates to the UN

 Youth delegates make speeches on behalf of their country’s youth, take part in negotiations of resolutions, host side events, write collective declarations and advocate for youth rights.  Youth delegates represent their peers’ interests at the highest levels, make their demands visible and mobilize a global network for change.

4. Mechanism: Mentoring Programme – The case of Germany, Austria, Switzerland: “Rock Your Life”

 Mentorship programmes are powerful tools for the civic empowerment of disadvantaged young people.  Mentoring programmes can be an important tool to groom new generations of engaged youth, and reach out to improve the fostering of equal access to opportunities and skill improvement for diverse populations.

5. Mechanism: E-Participation – The case in UNICEF U-Report

 U-Report, developed by UNICEF, is a participatory programme that uses free SMS and online messengers to engage young people and communities in e-participation.  U-Report can reach vast numbers of young people in a short period of time to consult them on their needs and inform and warn them about events or crises occurring.

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Strategies for Engaging Youth in Local Governance

1. Youth on Boards

• Adults and youth collaborate to define specific youth roles and responsibilities which best utilize their skills and talents. • Decision-making, planning and work is shared equitably between youth and adult board members 2. Youth advisory councils

• Youth advisory councils (YAC) inform city councils and departments about the needs and interests of youth. • Need structure and stability, i.e. a budget, funding, resources, workspace; youth training etc

3. Local Action Projects • Local action projects engage a larger number and broader diversity of youth than the more formal governance structures, i.e. youth councils, thus providing opportunities for a greater number of youth to impact city policy-making and effect social change.

4. Youth-run programs • Youth run programs and services are generally formed in schools, recreation centres, and not-for-profit community organizations. • Governance responsibilities: design of the program; development of policies, spending and raising funds, and hiring staff etc

5. Youth- run organizations • When youth run their own organizations, they have ultimate responsibility for all of the primary governance and decision-making powers within their organization. • This strategy’s strength is the freedom it gives youth to be autonomous and to figure things out independently. Key Takeaways

• Innovation in youth participation can be initiated and led by young people, adults or both working together • Enabling environment formed by inclusive national policies, supportive legislation and structures as well as inclusive social and cultural practices is important • Youth must be seen as a catalyst for change & bringing innovative solution to the traditional problems pertaining to politics and governance • Removing Barriers to youth’s participation in politics and governance is a long systematic process and successful democracies are investing in it.

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The second next presentation during the session was made by the Brazil Youth Delegates. Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran introduced Ms. Luciana Alves de Lima, General Coordinator of Civil Rights Affairs of the National Secretariat for Youth Affairs who made the presentation along with the other representatives of the Brazil Team including the following youth:

 Mr. Luciano Almeida Santos, Advisor to the National Secretary for Youth Affairs.  Mr. Douglas Rodrigues, General Coordinator of the Office of International Affairs.  Ms. Stéfane Silva, Coordinator of International Affairs.

Ms. Luciana Alves de Lima in her presentation indicated the following details pertaining to Brazil:

1. Public Governance Policy of Brazil’s Government

According to legislation, governance is defined as “set of mechanisms of leadership, strategy and control put into practice to assess, direct and monitor management, with a view to conducting public policies and providing services of interest to society.”

What is the role of the federal government's governance policy?

 Need to strengthen society's trust in public institutions  Establishing minimum levels of governance, such ways to monitor results, search for solutions to improve performance and use instruments to promote the decision-making process based on evidence.

2. Social participation as a mechanism for governance and the formulation of public policies

Ms. Luciana quoted several examples on the youth participation in governance process in Brazil. Some of them are mentioned below:

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a. Examples of social participation instruments developed by the federal government

 New Law on Public Tenders and Administrative Contracts provides, for example, for public consultation priors to receive suggestions from interested citizens.

b. Examples of social participation instruments developed by the federal government

 Interactive digital platform to expand social participation in the development of public policies and create a direct channel between the Federal Government and the society for consultations and public hearings, opinions on normative acts and information on collegiate bodies. (https://www.gov.br/participamaisbrasil/pagina-inicial).

c. Examples of social participation instruments developed by the federal government Fala.Br

 Integrated platform for ombudsman and access to information developed by the General Union’s Controller and aims to promote the participation, protection and defense of rights of the user of public services. (https://falabr.cgu.gov.br/).

3. Youth in Governance

According to Youth Statute, established in 2013, which dedicates an exclusive section explaining the guarantees of citizenship, social and political participation, and youth representation, it's a right of brazilian youth:

 I - the inclusion of young people in public and community spaces based on their conception as an active, free, responsible and worthy person to occupy a central position in political and social processes;  II - the active involvement of young people in public policy actions aimed at their own benefit of their communities, cities and regions, and of the country;  III - the individual and collective participation of the youth in actions that contemplate the defense of the rights of youth or of issues related to youth;

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 IV - the effective inclusion of young people in public decision-making spaces with the right to voice and vote. (Brazil Youth Statute:https://www.gov.br/mdh/pt-br/navegue- por-temas/juventude-1/publicacoes/estatuto-da-juventude_.pdf).

Forms of youth participation:

Youth Conferences

 Over the years, three national youth conferences were held, mobilizing thousands of young people in the states and cities with preparatory conferences to discuss themes and prepare proposals for the issues at hand.

Youth Councils

 Permanent and autonomous bodies in charge of dealing with youth policies and guaranteeing the exercise of youth rights.  Its representatives, usually appointed every two or three years through public selection notices, must formulate and ensure democratic management and social control in order to propose a pro-youth agenda.

National Youth Secretariat

 In 2005, the federal government created the National Youth Secretariat (SNJ), contributing to placing the demands of young people on the public policy agenda, either through institutional articulation within the scope of public administration and with the private sector and civil society, either by proposing and formulating social projects and programs.

National Youth System (SINAJUVE)

 System of articulation and organization of the Union, States, Federal District, Municipalities and civil society to promote public youth policies and the social participation of young people.

These are minimum requirements for participation:

1. Institution of a state, district or municipal youth council 2. Existence of a state, district or municipal body responsible for public youth policies.

Course: "Training in Public Policies for Youth"

 The National Youth Secretariat in partnership with National School of Public Administration, developed a training course in public policies for youth:

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 Objective: Training young managers, coordinators and youth counselors and other interested parties for the formulation and implementation of public policies that promote and enforce the rights and aspirations of Brazilian youth.

Later, the South Africa Youth Delegation made the presentation on Youth in Governance highlighting the situation in their country. Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran introduced the presentation team members from South Africa which comprised of the following youth:

 Mr. Bongani Mahlangu, South Africa Union of Students  Mr. Thembinkosi Josopu, South African Youth Council  Ms. Lufuno Raphulu, National Youth Development Agency

Following are the details of presentation made by the South African youth delegation team:

Introduction

Crises of the magnitude of COVID-19 deepened the existing societal cleavages, exacerbated the structures of privilege and inequities, and worsen the avenues for social and political mobility. The emergence of such large-scale upheavals disproportionately disadvantages youth who suffer the ravages of declining employment opportunities, social welfare, and other measures meant to confront the pandemic. Moreover, as governments shift energies to meet the emergencies occasioned by the pandemic and address the plight of the most vulnerable members of society, they frequently ignore youth and their multiple concerns aside, purportedly as governments wait for the return to normalcy. Ultimately, the youth face diminished societal visibility and dignity.

Recommendations

• IBSA countries should assign clear responsibilities to government entities at the central and subnational level in the implementation of youth policy and the delivery of public services; • Make available sufficient human, financial and technical resources for

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government youth-led entities and organisations to deliver programmes and initiatives for young people based on regular performance and needs assessments; • Encourage policymakers across ministerial departments to consider the expected impact of new regulation on young people and their development opportunities, for instance, based on joint standards and incentive structures and such policy initiatives should be driven by young people themselves; • IBSA countries must provide meaningful opportunities for young people throughout the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of public policies and services to make suggestions and provide comments and feedback in all areas affecting their lives; • Invite young people to participate in participatory budgeting, including the submission of self-designed projects, selection based on voting and the implementation and monitoring of outcomes and impact; • Support programmes and initiatives addressing young people which are disenchanted from public life, in particularly vulnerable subgroups (e.g. school drop-outs, disabled youth, minorities), in collaboration with community-based organisations and youth associations; • Provide clear information for youth associations who seek financial, organisational, and technical support in the implementation of their activities and provide sustainable support structures for volunteering amongst young people; and • Encourage the creation of youth councils at national and other spheres of society or equivalent bodies, based on an inclusive and participatory approach, clear mandates, and adequate resources.

Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran concluded the session with the following remarks:

Youth in Governance

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Youth in Governance in the IBSA Region

 To make a difference in the longer term, it is essential that young people are engaged in formal political processes and have a say in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s politics.  Inclusive political participation is not only a fundamental political and democratic right but also is crucial to building stable and peaceful societies and developing policies that respond to the specific needs of younger generations.  For young people to be adequately represented in political institutions, processes, and decision-making, and in particular in elections, they must know their rights and be given the necessary knowledge and capacity to participate in a meaningful way at all levels.  Need to remove obstacles to participating in formal, institutionalized political processes, so that young people do not feel disempowered which may lead to young people being increasingly excluded from taking part in decision-making, or in debates about key socio-economic and political issues, despite their sensitivity to the demands for social equity and justice, environmental protection and cultural diversity.  Establishing a multi-country program for encouraging open dialogue proposed on “Youth Leadership and Development needed in IBSA countries”.  Private sector needs to step up and play a more active role in enhancing the leadership capabilities and skills of youth to ensure training, education and other initiatives are demand-driven and skills to match industry requirements can be imparted.

During the open discussion, the youth delegates made the following suggestions:

. Crowd sourcing for providing financial aid to youth for contesting in elections. . Need to encourage youth participation in local governance process. . Promotion of the concept of youth in governance instead of government.

Thematic Discussions – 3: Youth Development and Exchange Programmes

Initiating the discussions for the third priority theme of the Summit, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran, Professor and Head, Centre for National and International Collaboration, RGNIYD provided the following details pertaining to youth development in all the three countries:

Item India Brazil South Africa Definition of India’s National Youth Brazil's Youth Statute South Africa’s National youth Policy (2014) - 15 to 29 (2013) - 15-29 years. Youth Policy - 14 to 35 (27.5% of the population) (16.5% of the years (37% of the Population) Population)

Policy India’s National Youth National Youth Policy National Youth Policy Policy (2014) (2010) 2020 – 2028

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Institutions  Ministry of Youth  National National Youth Affairs and Sports Youth Development Agency  RGNIYD Secretariat (NYDA)  NSS (SNJ)  NYKS  National Youth Council

She later invited and introduced the India Youth Delegation comprising of the following delegates to make their presentation:

 Ms. Krishna Raj, RGNIYD, Tamil Nadu  Mr. Vinay Kamal, IIM, Srimaur  Mr. Allenbe Ruston Kharbani, NIT, Meghalaya

The details of presentation made by the Indian Youth Delegation are as follows:

Introduction

The Indian team elaborated on the eleven priority areas of the National Youth Policy (2014):

1. Education 2. Employment and skill development 3. Entrepreneurship 4. Health and healthy lifestyle 5. Sports 6. Promotion of social values 7. Community engagement 8. Participation in politics and governance 9. Youth engagement 10. Inclusion 11. Social justice

Later the five Objectives of the National Youth Policy (2014) were discussed as follows:

1. Create a productive workforce that can make a sustainable contribution to India’s economic development 2. Develop a strong and healthy generation equipped to take on future challenges 3. Instil social values and promote community service to build national ownership 4. Facilitate participation and civic engagement at all levels of governance

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5. Support youth at risk and create equitable opportunity for all disadvantaged & marginalized youth

Government of India spends

 Rs.37,000 crores for Schemes targeted at development of youthNon Targeted Schemes  Rs.55,000 crores for Non Targeted Schemes

Learning from the best practices of youth development programs

 Leads to acceptance and understanding of an array of different cultural and community perspectives.  Culture understanding through practical immersion  Skill building projects for enhancing capacity of organizations working with young people.  Focus on youth employability skills, social entrepreneurship, gender equity, life skills, disaster preparedness and risk reduction, youth leadership and personality development.  Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) and similar institutes could facilitate development of regional and global higher education with standards of excellence for research and teaching.

Common educational Credit system

 A cooperated system of credit to enhance cross country studies.  A study on the effectiveness of this cooperated system of credit must be of priority.  Focus to short-term credit mobility, internationalisation of the curriculum and learning outcomes.  This system that facilitates search for global talent, decentralize operations and branch campuses, for both cooperation and competition.  India's Choice Based Credit System aims to bring quality and transformational change in Indian higher education.

Support to Youth for cross country projects and programs in Science, Technology and Innovation

 Joint Technology Assessment and Accelerated Commercialization Programmes.  The National Innovation System plays a major role in funding S&T research and

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development.  Facilitate collaboration of IBSA countries S&T-led SMEs and start-ups to develop new technological solutions.  Revival of the economies leading to sustainable growth.  Include cooperation in diverse fields given the capacities and capabilities of the countries.

Gender-responsive Youth Programs

 Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save Daughter, Educate Daughter) initiative to save and empower  Skilling and employment programmes for women, along with microfinance services, are reaching underprivileged rural women in distant corners of the country  The UN partnered with NITI Aayog and MyGov to launch the first-ever Women Transforming India campaign in 2016.  UNFPA and its partners mobilized over 200 students through the Kickstart Equality Campaign and an online campaign to engage men and boys has been initiated in partnership with Youth ki Awaaz.  Three key focus areas – the use of women’s time, asset ownership, and the prevalence of violence against women.  UNFPA and UNV organized a youth adda for young boys and girls on Republic Day in Delhi to help develop an understanding among young people regarding politics – what it is, how the system works and how they could, as individual citizens, influence the decision-making process.

Inter-country youth exchanges by way of formal academic and professional programs in place

 Periodic youth cultural exchange program for promoting exchange in ideas, values and culture, peace and understanding amongst the youth.  Formal academic and professional programs, ranging from week long seminars and education expos to semester long courses in the universities.  Participation from relevant international and local civil society organizations with young volunteers at all stages must be involved for a supportive environment.  Landscape analysis on priority areas.

IBSA forum for digital transformation for Youth

 Social Media groups to be created for better idea exchange in IBSA countries.  Enhance participation through online Hackathons, Ideathons and other competitions.  Promote Volunteers/Participants selected from educational institutions to participate in this forum and share new ideas.  Enhanced discussions and sharing of ideas through virtual meetings and workshops  Digital India Initiative giving a push to young social entrepreneurs

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Youth Engagement for enhancing the agro-based food value chain

 Capacity building initiatives that facilitate realization of the potential and accessibility to the opportunity in agro based value chain  Promotion of research and sharing innovative methods across countries  Promoting internships and fellowships that facilitates inter-cultural as well as intra- cultural interactions  Exchanges and activities to showcase their ideas, promote technology and skill transfer, and to influence the overall agro- based food value chain.  Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) Scheme o facilitate youth engagement in Agriculture o establish network groups to take up resource and capital intensive activities like processing, value addition and marketing

Promoting entrepreneurship among the youth

 Proper training, incubator support and credit to finance ventures  Social entrepreneurship promotes gainful employment and social development  Atal Innovation Mission, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Start-up India Scheme, NRLM etc are some among them.  Rural Self-employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) play a significant role by providing training for self-employment.  Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 2.0 (PMKVY 2.0) encourages and promotes skill development in the country by providing free short duration skill training

Economic Mentorship Programme

 Engage with leading professors and industry experts to mentor youth  Planning, design, and roll-out of MOOC programs.  Internships with corporate partners across countries for better understanding of changing market scenarios and probably good cultural exchange.  Allowing cross country research opportunities with think-tanks.

Youth Business-Incubator Forum for Social Entrepreneurship

 Setup sector specific accelerators to evaluate and fund promising social startups in each of the country.

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 Run annual fellowship programs  Propagate the concept of for-purpose businesses  Providing technical resources like cloud hosting platform & industrial support  Enable visits of selected budding entrepreneurs of IBSA countries  Get in touch with for purpose organizations or create problem statements and host competitions for getting solutions in the form of hackathons.

Online platform for communication and exchange of experiences in the field of youth entrepreneurship and creative industries

 Communication path to interact and to exchange their ideas, knowledge concerning the research, innovations, opportunities and challenges.  To keep informed on the developments and progress made in their interest areas.  The Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, RGNIYD, National Young Leaders Programme, International Cooperation through Youth Exchange Programmes are some of the initiatives by India.

Later, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran introduced the Brazilian Youth Delegation and informed that Ms. Isadora Cora Zanim, Advisor to the National Secretary for Youth Affairs will make the presentation on behalf of Brazil along with the following representatives:

She made a detailed presentation on the national policy on youth development and the youth development programmes that are in place in Brazil. She brought out some success models of youth development in Brazil.

In her presentation, she reiterated on the need for virtual and video exchange programmes for ideas among the youth to be shared and the international experiences to be disseminated on youth development.

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Next, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran invited the South Africa Youth Delegation to make their country presentation. She introduced the team of youth delegates of the South Africa comprising of:

 Ms. Thabile Msibi, Youth In Business South Africa  Ms. Kgomotso Moalusi, Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities  Ms. Kelebogile Thulo, Progressive Youth Alliance

Following were the details of presentation made by the South African youth delegates:

Introduction

Investing in human resources is the single most important investment any country can make. No country has successfully made the transition from developing to developed with an incapacitated society. Youth development is a process that prepares a young person to meet the challenges of adolescence and adulthood and achieve his or her full potential. Youth development programs in the form of youth exchange programmes are designed to optimize youth developmental progress and these undertakings are intentional, a pro-social approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths."

South Africa’s Youth Delegation Team recommended the following to the summit:

 Foster intercultural dialogue and learning and feeling of being in the IBSA countries.  Develop skills and attitudes of young people that will be of use in the changing economic climate.  Strengthen values and breaking down prejudices and stereotypes within the countries and allow for lifelong learning.  Raise awareness about socially relevant topics and thus stimulate engagement in society and active participation.

After this presentation, the floor was kept open for discussion among the youth to provide their suggestions/recommendations/observations if any.

Later, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran gave the concluding remarks for the session as follows:

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Youth Development and Exchange Programs of IBSA countries

The participants made the following suggestions during the open discussion after all the three country presentations on the theme:

. Virtual and video exchange programs/platforms among the IBSA youth to share and exchange ideas and international experiences . National university Programmes . Providing promotions based on community service instead of seniority in the administrative structures . Replicating the Indian model of young women transforming India through campaigns on economic, social, environmental, community development issues . Strengthening rural economies by empowering young women through participation in SHG Movement as in the case of India . Need to set up a Forum for Youth Development in IBAS by setting up IBSA Youth Secretariat

With the concluding remarks of the Moderator of the Summit, the second day’s deliberations came to an end.

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Thematic Discussions – 4: Youth Development Index

The third day’s proceedings of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit began with the discussions on the 4th priority theme ‘Youth Development Index’.

Introducing the theme for discussion on the final day of the Summit, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran brought out the reasons to have a comprehensive Youth Development Index for each of the country for the following reasons:

 Recognizes youth as a population category that require focused attention  Composite measure to assess & compare the status of youth at National and State Levels  Identifies priority areas to formulate policy and programmes  Enables allocation of resources for youth development  Monitoring and evaluation tool for youth development initiatives in consonance with the objectives of National Youth Policy and Programs

She later presented the details of the Youth Development Index across the IBSA countries as follows:

India Brazil South Africa Youth Development Youth Development Index – The status of youth report 2003: young Index – 2010 2005 people in South Africa (http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research- data/view/2115)

Youth Development Youth Development Index – South Africa National Youth Policy 2020- Index – 2016 & 2017 2001 2030 (http://www.women.gov.za/images/articles /NYPDraft-2030-28-July-2020.pdf)

South Africa is in the process of bringing its updated YDI

2020 Global Youth Development Index Overall Score

Country Rank Score India 122 0.626 Brazil 116 0.637 South Africa 131 0.608

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She further spoke about the Global Youth Development Index 2020 and mentioned that:

 Conditions of young people have improved around the world by 3.1 per cent between 2010 and 2018, but the progress remains slow. The index ranks countries between 0.00 (lowest) and 1.00 (highest) according to the developments in youth education, employment, health, equality and inclusion, peace and security, and political and civic participation.  It looks at 27 indicators including literacy and voting to showcase the state of the world’s 1.8 billion people between the age of 15 and 29.

She also presented the key highlights of the current Global Youth Development Index as follows:

 Singapore ranked top for the first time followed by Slovenia, Norway, Malta and Denmark.  Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Niger came last .  Afghanistan, India, Russia, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso were the top five improvers, advancing their score, on average, by 15.74 per cent.  Syria, Ukraine, Libya, Jordan and Lebanon showed the greatest decline in youth development between 2010 and 2018.

Mentioning about the global trends, she listed the following facts:

 Advances in youth’s participation in peace processes and their education, employment, inclusion and health care since 2010.  Health made the largest gains of 4.39 per cent driven by a 1.6 per cent decline in global youth mortality rates and a 2 per cent drop in each HIV, self-harm, alcohol abuse and tobacco use. Sub-Saharan Africa made the greatest strides in improving the health of young people.  Levels of underemployed youth and those not in school, training or work remained constant. Advances in equality and inclusion are led by improved gender parity in literacy as well as fewer child marriage cases and pregnancies in girls under 20. Yet no progress occurred in women’s safety.  Global education score increased by 3 per cent, with South Asia making the largest improvement of 16 per cent.  Peace and security improved by 3.41 per cent, resulting from fewer young people dying from direct violence. Somalia recorded the largest gains in the peace and security of young people, followed by Colombia, Sri Lanka, Eritrea and Russia.  Youth participation in politics is the only domain to record a decline in most parts of the world, reporting a deterioration in 102 countries.  Sweden leads on education, Luxembourg on equality and inclusion, Indonesia on political and civic participation while Singapore tops the employment, health, and peace and security domains.

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Later, she spoke on the India’ Youth Development Index and mentioned that the following editions were brought out:

 Indian Youth Development Index 2010  Indian Youth Development Index 2016 & 2017  She also mentioned that the preparation of Indian Youth Development Index - 2022 is underway.

Mentioning about the highlights of the India’s 2017 YDI model which was constructed based on the dimensions of Global Youth Development Index – 2016:

She listed the dimensions of India Youth Development Index - 2017 as follows:

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She also highlighted how the India’s Youth Development Index serves as a comparison tool on the extent of youth development among the Indian states based on the following graphical representation:

She mentioned that, a comparable Youth Development Index based on the 2010’s model in India was brought out in 2016 to enable comparison and trend analysis in youth development over a gap of six years. This she explained based on the following pictorial representation:

Later she introduced the India Youth Delegation consisting of the following members to make their presentation:

 Ms. Prinitha Sridhar, RGNIYD, Tamil Nadu  Mr. Abdul Basith Kodaya Padath, RGNIYD, Tamil Nadu  Mr. Mohit Kumar, IIT, CHENNAI

The details of the presentation made by India’s youth delegates are as follows:

What is youth development?

• Enhancing the status of young people, empowering them to build on their competencies and capabilities for life • Enable them to contribute and benefit from a politically stable, economically viable, and legally supportive environment, ensuring their full participation as active citizens in their countries.

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• Youth: 15-29 years old

Youth development index (YDI)

• Quantify youth development in a unified manner • Identify trends and construct future plans

Existing measures:

• Global Youth Development Index: 27 indicators, 6 categories, 181 countries • India Youth Development Index: 19 indicators, 6 categories, 29 states

India in perspective

 Global YDI: 122 out of 181

Domains of YDI

Health and Well-being

• The major indicators of Youth in India pertaining to their health are lifestyle choices, sexual and reproductive behaviour. • Other factors are education, financial resources, food security, nutrition intake and their living condition. • The National Family Health Survey-4 shows improved sources to basic facilities in the areas of water sources, sanitation facility, fuel to household, electricity etc.

Education

• The gross enrolment ratio of India has witnessed considerable increase throughout the years. • The schemes adopted by the GoI are RMSA, RUSA to increase the enrolment rate. • NEP 2020 aims to provide infrastructure support, innovative learning techniques to reduce dropout rates, facilitating multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education modes and increased mental health support to the students.

Employment and opportunity

• Labour Force Participation Rate • Various schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Upgrading Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD), Skill Development Initiative on

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Modular Employable Skill (MES), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gramin Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY) have been adopted by GoI to upskill the youth of India.

Civic and political participation

• In India, the voter turnout has hovered between 55 to 59 percent except for 6 elections where the turnout crossed 60 percent. This can be attributed to various reasons. • Youth and Political Survey 2011 reports that the youth compared to other respondents have more interest in politics while one-third of the youth do not have any interest in politics • Organisations such as NYKS & NSS, have worked extensively towards strengthening the youth to participate in community-related activities, educating and campaigning for civil rights, political awareness, and other constructive engagements. • Diversifying the perception, increasing the political opportunities for youth, increased awareness can encourage political and civic participation.

Challenges ahead

• India’s population is projected to rise to 1.51 billion by 2030. • Drug/Alcohol Abuse. • Growing Up Too Fast. • Violence in School / College • Stress & Time Management • Political & Social Issues • Migration • Education Inequality • Obesity & Undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies

Empowering the Youth as agents of change

• Governments should invest their resources in youth in many ways for their meaningful engagements. • How: By evolving meaningful policies and spending needed amount in youth activities. • This prepares youths to face challenges in life.

How to Promote Positive Youth Development

• Physical and psychological safety • Supportive relationships • Opportunities to belong • Support for efficacy and mattering • Positive social norms • Opportunities for skill-building

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• Appropriate structure • Integration of family, school, and community efforts. • Put youth in charge • Political Education

On completion of this presentation, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran called upon the Brazilian Youth Delegation and requested Ms. Ana Reis, Director for Strategic Planning and the other representatives from Brazil comprising of the following members to make their country presentation:

 Mr. Luciano Almeida Santos, Advisor to the National Secretary for Youth Affairs  Mr. Douglas Rodrigues, General Coordinator of the Office of International Affairs  Ms. Stéfane Silva, Coordinator of International Affairs

However, it was informed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, the host of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit that Brazil has in advance informed that due to sudden commitments, the presenter was unable to make the presentation and therefore, RGNIYD was requested to skip this presentation.

Thereafter, Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran called upon the South Africa’s Youth Delegation comprising of the following members and requested them to make their country presentation:

 Ms. Tshwarelo Sikwane, National Youth Development Agency  Mr. Oltman Fourie, Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities  Ms. Nurjawaan Rawoot, South African Blind Youth Organization

The details of the presentation made by the South Africa’s Youth Delegation are as follows:

Introduction

The youth development index in the IBSA should be utilised to inform policymakers about young people's needs and opportunities, indicating areas of success and where attention and investment are needed. It must act as a data advocacy tool, highlighting the importance of gathering statistics on key youth indicators to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Recommendations

• IBSA countries should utilize data collected to develop a global partnership for development; • The index should promote gender equality, empower women and all vulnerable groups; and • Youth perspectives in program design, planning, and implementation, IBSA countries must collect input from target audiences using surveys, key informant interviews, and focus groups.

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On completion of the presentation by South Africa, the moderator requested the participants of the Summit to make their observations and recommendations if any based on the theme and the presentations made. After series of discussions, the moderator made the following concluding remarks:

 Countries have introduced a number of schemes and programmes for development of the Youth and for the involvement in the development of the country. These schemes and programmes need continuous and effective monitoring, evaluation, identification of problem areas, introduction of corrective measures, re-examination of approaches, methods and implementation strategies for which a development index exclusively for the youth is essential  Indicators have a critical role to play as they describe and explain a phenomenon, help examine the current practices, survey past trends, project and predict future scenarios, and indicate possible solutions for Youth Development in IBSA countries  Relevant indicators that would reflect the situation of youth today in IBSA countries and find ways of collecting and processing vastly scattered youth related data in IBSA countries  National Youth Development Index and Report have been an effective tool for IBSA countries – different levels of governments, civil society and the independent sector, youth and community development organizations, Student youth and non-student youth networks, Universities and tertiary education sectors, youth wings of political, religious, cultural and secular organizations and all those who are interested in youth development issues.  Youth Development Index have helped in formulating policy and planning perspectives and analysis on youth besides informing the policy makers about progress as well setbacks in youth development policies, planning and implementation strategies and suggest alternatives and options.  Youth Development Index has served as an “observatory of social change” in the IBSA countries and as a support tool for national and regional policy making bodies for judicious resource allocation and priority identification.

She also outlined the following recommendations for the Governments to invest more on the following aspects based on the inputs provided by the youth:

 lifelong digital skilling of young people  mental health services  apprenticeships  road safety  youth participation in decision-making  Urge governments to improve data collection on education and diversify how they measure digital skills and online engagement of youth.

With this, the thematic sessions came to an end.

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Preparation of the Action Plan of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

The final session was on the preparation of the Action Plan of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit. Detailed discussions were held theme-wise based on the presentations made by each country and the discussions following the country presentations and the focal points for action by the Governments of IBSA countries with the participation of the youth in the respective countries were deliberated upon.

After these discussions, the Action Plan was prepared and was also presented before the participants of the Summit for their accord. Once the participating delegates were convinced about the action points that were collectively listed under each of the four themes, the Action Plan formally adopted.

Following section provides the details of the Action Plan for the 1st IBSA Youth Summit.

Action Plan of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

The participants, representing government authorities, youth communities, public organizations, students and working youth of the Republic of India, the Federative Republic of Brazil, and the Republic of South Africa gathered at the 1st IBSA Youth Summit, which took place in August 2021 in virtual platform under the theme "IBSA: Democracy for Demography and Development " to discuss the current state and prospects for the development of youth cooperation of the IBSA countries in a wide range of areas.

In the new and emerging global context, effective views and experiential sharing of the youth in IBSA countries is essential for their constructive participation in dialogue and decision- making processes; active contribution to, and leadership in, positive transformation of their communities by way of joint actions, at a national, regional and global level.

A series of participatory dialogues, events and commitments is thus needed to bring together youth, youth functionaries, civil society organizations, government bodies, opinion makers and decision makers, to discuss, identify and agree on proposed actions that will strengthen social, economic, political cohesion at the country and the regional level for IBSA countries. Thus it makes it imperative to search for new mechanisms of cooperation and integration in various fields, keeping focus on the agency of ‘youth’ by creating joint programs and projects.

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Strategic intervention and Common Charter for Youth of IBSA Region

- Urgent positive measures to be undertaken by the governments independently and jointly to reduce the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the health of youth and enable the youth to progress in the post COVID period.

- Engage young people in the democratic process at all levels of governance, from the local to the international as youth participation is very much needed and essential for a democratic society

- Define a “IBSA Youth Strategy 2021-22” by drawing ideas from existing and emerging national youth programs of the IBSA countries and sustained advocacy to formulate and implement youth responsive programs by national governments. Youth Exchange Programs, Youth Camps, Capacity Building Programmes between Brazil and South Africa on identified themes with India and vice versa

- Evolve a Youth Development Index in the countries of IBSA Region to measure the level and value of youth participation in civic, economic, social, political arena. These parameters to track and monitor the implementation of youth agenda in a comparative manner between countries.

As a result of the four dialogue sessions held within the Summit’s framework, the IBSA participants suggested the following action plan:

1. Health of Youth - Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in IBSA Countries

 Ensure that measures to ease the financial impacts on households are comprehensive and sufficient to bridge the gap resulting from loss of earnings and its impact on health

 Governments should ensure there is continuity in learning by promoting high-tech, low-tech and no-tech solutions for education, work and health.

 Youth with special needs, such as those with disabilities, will require additional attention and support on health related issues be it physical, mental, emotional.

 Social protection measures such as cash transfer payments, unemployment support, paid sick leave, and access to healthcare to be expanded.

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 Promote universal health coverage for societal interest. To ensure effective access to healthcare for all young people during this time, long-recognized structural barriers must now be dismantled.

 Mental health should be integrated as part of the broader health response. There may be longer term mental health impacts that are currently unknown, to which public service providers should be sensitive and implement mitigation measures which have implications for mental health of youth.

 Build the capacity of youth to be able to make their own decisions and to take responsibility for their own health.

 Health education, public health promotion and evidence-based information are critical in combating the spread and effects of COVID-19. The role of governments as well as youth organizations and community groups will be essential to challenge the spread of misinformation online and to ensure that trustworthy public health information is disseminated.

 Young people themselves should be engaged in spreading public health information in innovative ways such as videos to promote effective handwashing or explain how social distancing can save lives in their communities.

 Encourage young innovators who are responding to the pandemic through projects with social impact. The governments and the private sector need to partner with young people to launch initiatives that leverage young people’s efforts to support their communities. Young people can support vulnerable members of their community through voluntary initiatives.

2. Youth in Governance in the IBSA Region

 Inclusion of youth for greater representativeness in the political system at all levels may be ensured so that they have a say in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s politics.

 Adequate representation of young people in political institutions, processes, and decision- making, and in particular in elections, they must know their rights and be given the necessary knowledge and capacity to participate in a meaningful way at all levels.

 Remove obstacles to participating in formal, institutionalized political processes by youth so that they do not feel disempowered which may lead to young people being increasingly excluded from taking part in decision-making, or in debates about key

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socio-economic and political issues, despite their sensitivity to the demands for social equity and justice, environmental protection and cultural diversity.

 Data collection and analysis on youth taking part in the democratic process at all levels of governance, from the local to the international should be undertaken on a priority basis.

 Documentation of youth engagement by the public authorities which helps young people to be relevant in the decision-making process and also allows them to broaden their own experiences may be done.

 Promotion of civic education to instill ethical values that can help youth to distinguish right from wrong for promoting active youth participation in governance may be focused on.

3. Youth Development Programs of IBSA countries

 Facilitate learning from the best practices of flagship youth development programs in IBSA countries through youth exchange programs, capacity building programs, youth camps and study tours.

 Encourage inter-country youth exchanges between IBSA countries by way of formal academic and professional programs in place; whereby governments and private sector can create supportive environment

 Propose a Common IBSA Country Cooperation System of credits for citizen students and professionals seeking higher education and training in these three countries.

 Focus on enhancing cooperation and support provided for youth seeking to engage in cross-country projects and programs in fields of science, technology and innovation, across thematic areas within IBSA countries.

 Adopting a more ‘gender-responsive programming’ when devising the overall IBSA Youth program mandate in relation to education and capacity building.

 Accelerate capacitation of youth via the creation of an online ‘IBSA forum for digital transformation for Youth’ guided by youth-led discussions and dialogues.

 Engage with youth on a formal IBSA platform for enhancing the agro-based food value chain across the rural and urban economies; especially in a post-COVID context

 Support the endeavor of building a strong team of young entrepreneurs across IBSA countries to promote the spirit of social entrepreneurship.

 Undertake an online economic mentorship program for youth with updates on changing labor market scenarios and resource availability which may be linked with

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successful mentors across IBSA to sharpen the skills and knowledge in different career paths.

 Focus on building strength of the IBSA International Youth Business-Incubator Forum, by readying a strong team of chosen “1000 young entrepreneurs” across IBSA countries, to promote and champion the spirit of social entrepreneurship in IBSA.

 Create an integrated online platform for communication and exchange of experiences in the field of youth entrepreneurship and creative industries, for exchanging technical and support information like building of a cross-country social network for idea exchange, educational and training resource, and seeking mentors willing to guide the IBSA countries youth for entrepreneurial initiatives.

4. Youth Development Index

 The Youth Development Index to be a tool for continuous and effective monitoring, evaluation of youth policies and programs, identification of problem areas, introduction of corrective measures, re-examination of approaches, methods and implementation strategies.

 Put in place a ‘Youth Development Index’ for all countries in the IBSA region to measure the extent and value of youth participation in the economic, civic and social, and political arena.

 Utilize the Youth Development Index defined parameters for inter-country cooperation, comparative country performance on parameters, and alignment of broad objectives for fostering youth development in the region which will be easier to track and monitor, while building an environment for positively challenging the key stakeholders.

 Evolve methods of collecting and processing vastly scattered youth related data in IBSA countries.

 Practice the use of indicators to examine the current practices, survey past trends, project and predict future scenarios, and indicate possible solutions for Youth Development in IBSA region

 Determine ways to employ Youth Development Index as an “observatory of social change” in the IBSA countries/region and as a support tool for national and regional policy making bodies for judicious resource allocation and priority identification.

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Adoption of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit Action Plan

Once the presentation on the Action Plan of the Summit was shared with the participating delegates, all the delegates read out the following message in one accord symbolic of unanimous launching of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit Action Plan and the IBSA Youth Strategy 2021-22:

We, the participants, representing government authorities, youth communities, public organizations, students and working youth of the Republic of India, the Federative Republic of Brazil, and the Republic of South Africa gathered at the 1st IBSA Youth Summit, which took place in August, 2021 in virtual platform under the theme "IBSA: Democracy for Demography and Development " to discuss the current state and prospects for the development of youth cooperation of the IBSA countries in a wide range of areas.

We unanimously propose the above Action Plan on each of the themes namely Health of Youth with focus on the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth; Youth in Governance; Youth Development & Exchange Programmes; and Youth Development Index to be considered for implementation by our respective Governments with the active involvement of the youth as well as cooperation among the IBSA countries.

The Summit was concluded with the closing remarks of Prof. Sibnath Deb, Director, RGNIYD who also proposed the formal vote of thanks.

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List of Delegates/Participants of the 1st IBSA Youth Summit

Government Functionaries

1. Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon’ble Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India Ms. Usha Sharma IAS, Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India

2. Ms. Emilly Coelho, National Secretary for Youth Affairs, Brazil

3. Adv Joyce Mikateko Maluleke, Director General, Ministry of Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities, Federal Government of Brazil

4. Shri. Asit Singh, Joint Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India

5. Prof. Sibnath Deb, Director, Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development, Sriperumbudur

6. Shri Ravi Kumar Sinha, Under Secretary, International Co-operation Cell, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India

7. Dr. Vasanthi Rajendran, Professor and Head, Centre for National and International Collaboration, RGNIYD

8. Shri Mohammad Naushad Alam, Section Officer, International Co-operation Cell, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India

Indian Youth Delegates

1. Dr. Ms. Chitrakshi Nagpal, AIIMS, New Delhi 2. Dr. Ms. Prerna Garg, AIIMS, New Delhi 3. Mr. Jani Esekkial Mariya Selvam, RGNIYD, Tamil Nadu 4. Mr. Puneet Kakkar, IIM, Amritsar 5. Mr. Vishwa Mohan Tiwari, NIT, Surathkal, Karnataka 6. Ms. Vrinda Jindal, IIT, Bombay 7. Ms. Krishna Raj, RGNIYD, Tamil Nadu 8. Mr. Vinay Kamal, IIM, Srimaur 9. Mr. Allenbe Ruston Kharbani, NIT, Meghalaya 10. Ms. Prinitha Sridhar, RGNIYD, Tamil Nadu 11. Mr. Abdul Basith Kodaya Padath, RGNIYD, Tamil Nadu 12. Mr. Mohit Kumar, IIT, CHENNAI

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Brazilian Youth Delegates

1. Ms. Angela Gandra, National Secretary for the Family 2. Ms. Luciana Alves de Lima, General Coordinator of Civil Rights Affairs of the National Secretariat for Youth Affairs 3. Ms. Isadora Cora Zanim, Advisor to the National Secretary for Youth Affairs 4. Ms. Ana Reis, Director for Strategic Planning 5. Mr. Luciano Almeida Santos, Advisor to the National Secretary for Youth Affairs. 6. Mr. Douglas Rodrigues, General Coordinator of the Office of International Affairs. 7. Ms. Stéfane Silva, Coordinator of International Affairs.

South African Youth Delegates

1. Mr. Khulekani Skosana, African National Congress Youth League 2. Ms. Tshego Oratilwe, Youth With Diabetes 3. Ms. Bamanye Matiwane, South African Student Congress 4. Mr. Bongani Mahlangu, South Africa Union of Students 5. Mr. Thembinkosi Josopu, South African Youth Council 6. Ms. Lufuno Raphulu, National Youth Development Agency 7. Ms. Thabile Msibi, Youth In Business South Africa 8. Ms. Kgomotso Moalusi, Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities 9. Ms. Kelebogile Thulo, Progressive Youth Alliance 10. Ms. Tshwarelo Sikwane, National Youth Development Agency 11. Mr. Oltman Fourie, Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities 12. Ms. Nurjawaan Rawoot, South African Blind Youth Organization

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Press Clips

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For More Information, Please Contact

RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Institution of National Importance by the Act of Parliament No.35/12 Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India Sriperumbudur – 602 105. www.rgniyd.gov.in

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